home.social

#exercisescience — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #exercisescience, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Vibration Plates: A Complex Equation of Muscle Engagement and Limited Fat Loss Claims

    Vibration plates make muscles work harder but don't cause big fat loss. Find out what they really do for your body.

    #VibrationPlate, #FitnessFacts, #MuscleActivation, #WeightLoss, #ExerciseScience

    newsletter.tf/vibration-plates

  2. DATE: May 19, 2026 at 08:00AM
    SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

    ** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
    -------------------------------------------------

    TITLE: Scientists reveal the brain’s surprisingly active role in building exercise endurance

    URL: psypost.org/scientists-reveal-

    A recent study published in the journal Neuron suggests that the brain plays a direct role in how the body builds endurance after physical activity. Scientists found that a specific group of brain cells springs into action immediately after a workout, sending signals that tell the muscles to adapt and grow stronger. This research provides evidence that the benefits of exercise depend on the brain as much as they depend on the muscles themselves.

    The study was led by J. Nicholas Betley, a professor of biology and neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, Erik Bloss, an assistant professor at The Jackson Laboratory, and Kevin W. Williams, an associate professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The project’s co-first authors were Morgan Kindel, a neuroscience doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, and Ryan J. Post, an assistant professor at Providence College.

    The scientists conducted the research to explore how physical training creates long-lasting health benefits. People naturally assume that building endurance is a process that happens entirely within the body. When a person runs or lifts weights, the heart pumps harder and the muscles do the heavy lifting. As a result, changes in the cardiovascular system and muscle tissues seem to be the obvious source of increased stamina.

    However, the scientists suspected that the central nervous system might do more than just react to physical stress. They designed this project to see if the brain actively coordinates the body’s metabolic response to physical activity. “Our labs have long been interested in how the brain regulates metabolism, and exercise is one of the most powerful metabolic and health interventions,” Williams told PsyPost.

    At UT Southwestern, Williams runs a laboratory that examines how neural networks control feeding behavior, energy expenditure, and glucose metabolism. “We previously published that hypothalamic neurons undergo structural and functional changes in response to exercise,” Williams said. “In this study we addressed how hypothalamic neurons drive the peripheral adaptations to exercise.”

    Specifically, the researchers wanted to understand the function of a cluster of cells in the ventromedial hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is a small region deep in the brain that helps regulate metabolism, energy levels, and hunger. The authors focused on cells known as steroidogenic factor-1 neurons within this brain region.

    “Steroidogenic factor-1 neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus are well positioned to integrate signals about energy status and physical activity, so we set out to test whether they play a causal role in exercise-induced endurance improvements,” Williams said.

    The researchers designed a series of experiments using adult male and female mice to track and alter the activity of these neurons. To test the role of these specific brain cells, the scientists genetically modified a group of mice so that their steroidogenic factor-1 neurons could not communicate. They achieved this by introducing a tetanus toxin into these specific neurons, which prevents them from releasing chemical signals.

    The researchers then placed these mice on a motorized treadmill for an exercise stress test. They gradually increased the speed until the animals reached physical exhaustion. While the modified mice consumed oxygen at normal rates, they exhausted much faster than normal mice. They also burned through their energy reserves differently, showing an altered balance of carbohydrate and fat utilization.

    The researchers collected skeletal muscle tissue from the mice three hours after a final treadmill session. They analyzed the tissue using a laboratory technique that lets scientists see which genes are turned on or off. In normal mice, exercise triggered a cascade of genetic changes in the muscles that improve energy use.

    In the mice with silenced brain cells, these normal genetic changes in the muscle were almost entirely absent. The lack of brain signaling stopped the muscles from remodeling themselves. This finding suggests that the muscles need a permission signal from the brain to grow stronger.

    Next, the researchers put the mice through a three-week training program. The mice ran on the treadmill five days a week at gradually increasing speeds. Normal mice rapidly improved their running times and distances over the three weeks. Mice with the silenced brain cells failed to improve their stamina at all.

    “We were struck by how pronounced the effect was when these neurons were silenced,” Williams said. “Disrupting SF1 neuron activity significantly blunted endurance improvements even when the animals were still running, which suggested the neurons aren’t just responding to exercise, but are actively mediating adaptation. That degree of specificity was compelling.”

    Even when given free access to a running wheel in their cages, the modified mice showed almost no interest in running. To ensure this was not just a side effect of poor initial fitness, the scientists ran another test. They knocked down a different activity-related gene in the mice, which caused the animals to gain weight and run poorly at first. Despite their poor initial fitness, these mice still rapidly gained stamina after just a week of training, showing that the tetanus toxin modification was uniquely blocking endurance gains.

    To understand what these brain cells were doing in real time, the scientists used miniature microscopes mounted on the heads of the mice. These microscopes recorded calcium activity inside the neurons, which is a reliable marker of when a brain cell is firing. During a single running session, the researchers noticed that a specific subset of these neurons became highly active. Interestingly, these cells did not peak in activity during the run, but immediately after the exercise ended.

    As the mice continued their three-week training regimen, the researchers tracked these same individual cells. They found that repeated exercise increased the total number of brain cells that activated after a run. The magnitude of the electrical activity in these cells also grew stronger as the mice became more fit. This provides evidence that the brain learns to respond more robustly to physical training over time.

    Using a technique to measure electrical currents in individual brain cells from slices of brain tissue, the scientists observed that the resting electrical charge of these cells shifted in the exercised mice. The spontaneous firing rate of the neurons more than doubled in the mice that exercised compared to sedentary mice. There were also no completely silent neurons in the exercised group, unlike in the sedentary group.

    The scientists also looked closely at the physical structure of these neurons. Brain cells connect and communicate at junctions called synapses, which often sit on tiny branch-like structures known as dendritic spines. By counting these microscopic structures, the authors found that the exercised mice had twice as many dendritic spines as the sedentary mice. This physical change provides evidence that repeated exercise physically rewires the brain to receive more signals.

    Finally, the researchers used a technique to manipulate these brain cells with light. By shining a specific wavelength of light through a tiny fiber optic cable into the brain, they could turn the neurons on or off like a switch. During a three-week training program, the researchers turned off the brain cells for fifteen minutes immediately following each daily run. Because of this brief manipulation, these mice failed to improve their stamina.

    In a separate group of mice, the researchers used the light to stimulate the neurons for a full hour after each training session. The mice receiving this post-workout brain boost gained significantly more stamina than mice undergoing the exact same physical training. They could run longer and at higher speeds by the end of the trial. This suggests that the activity of these brain cells after a workout is an essential trigger for building physical endurance.

    While these findings offer a new way to think about exercise, readers might misinterpret the brain’s exact role. This study does not imply that muscle tissue is unimportant or that a person can simply think their way to better fitness. Physical movement is still required to start the biological process.

    “The brain isn’t just a passenger during exercise,” Williams said. “It is actively involved in the adaptations that make you fitter over time. We found that a specific population of hypothalamic neurons is required for the endurance gains that come with regular aerobic training.”

    The study has some limitations that require consideration when interpreting the data. “This work was performed in preclinical models, specifically in mice,” Williams said. “While the hypothalamic circuits we study are conserved across mammals, translating these findings to humans requires caution.”

    “We also focused on endurance performance as our primary outcome,” Williams added. “It will be important in future work to examine how broadly these neurons influence other aspects of exercise adaptation, such as metabolic flexibility or cardiovascular responses.”

    Future research will try to identify the exact biological pathways that connect the tired muscles to this specific brain region. “We want to better understand the circuitry involved in this response,” Williams told PsyPost. “Which signals do SF1 neurons receive/send, and to where, to drive these adaptations?”

    Understanding these pathways tends to open the door for new medical treatments. “This raises the possibility that targeting these brain circuits could one day help people who are unable to exercise fully benefit from some of its metabolic effects,” Williams said. “Longer term, understanding these pathways at a mechanistic level may open new therapeutic strategies for metabolic disease.”

    “Exercise remains one of the best medicines we have, and understanding its biology in the brain is still in its early days,” Williams said. “Studies like this remind us that the brain’s role in physical fitness is far more active and specific than we once appreciated.”

    The study, “Exercise-induced activation of ventromedial hypothalamic steroidogenic factor-1 neurons mediates improvements in endurance,” was authored by Morgan Kindel, Ryan J. Post, Kyle Grose, Louise Lantier, Eunsang Hwang, Jamie R.E. Carty, Lenka Dohnalová, Lauren Lepeak, Hallie C. Kern, Rachael Villari, Nitsan Goldstein, Emily Lo, Albert Yeung, Lukas Richie, Bridget Skelly, Jenna Golub, Manmeet Rai, Teppei Fujikawa, Julio E. Ayala, Joel K. Elmquist, Christoph A. Thaiss, David H. Wasserman, Kevin W. Williams, Erik B. Bloss, and J. Nicholas Betley.

    URL: psypost.org/scientists-reveal-

    -------------------------------------------------

    DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.

    Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: clinicians-exchange.org

    Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

    NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

    Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: nationalpsychologist.com

    EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: subscribe-article-digests.clin

    READ ONLINE: read-the-rss-mega-archive.clin

    It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

    -------------------------------------------------

    #psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ExerciseEndurance #BrainExerciseConnection #SF1Neurons #VentromedialHypothalamus #NeuralControlOfMetabolism #ExerciseAdaptation #EnduranceTraining #NeuroscienceResearch #BrainMuscleConnection #ExerciseScience

  3. DATE: May 19, 2026 at 08:00AM
    SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

    ** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
    -------------------------------------------------

    TITLE: Scientists reveal the brain’s surprisingly active role in building exercise endurance

    URL: psypost.org/scientists-reveal-

    A recent study published in the journal Neuron suggests that the brain plays a direct role in how the body builds endurance after physical activity. Scientists found that a specific group of brain cells springs into action immediately after a workout, sending signals that tell the muscles to adapt and grow stronger. This research provides evidence that the benefits of exercise depend on the brain as much as they depend on the muscles themselves.

    The study was led by J. Nicholas Betley, a professor of biology and neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, Erik Bloss, an assistant professor at The Jackson Laboratory, and Kevin W. Williams, an associate professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The project’s co-first authors were Morgan Kindel, a neuroscience doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, and Ryan J. Post, an assistant professor at Providence College.

    The scientists conducted the research to explore how physical training creates long-lasting health benefits. People naturally assume that building endurance is a process that happens entirely within the body. When a person runs or lifts weights, the heart pumps harder and the muscles do the heavy lifting. As a result, changes in the cardiovascular system and muscle tissues seem to be the obvious source of increased stamina.

    However, the scientists suspected that the central nervous system might do more than just react to physical stress. They designed this project to see if the brain actively coordinates the body’s metabolic response to physical activity. “Our labs have long been interested in how the brain regulates metabolism, and exercise is one of the most powerful metabolic and health interventions,” Williams told PsyPost.

    At UT Southwestern, Williams runs a laboratory that examines how neural networks control feeding behavior, energy expenditure, and glucose metabolism. “We previously published that hypothalamic neurons undergo structural and functional changes in response to exercise,” Williams said. “In this study we addressed how hypothalamic neurons drive the peripheral adaptations to exercise.”

    Specifically, the researchers wanted to understand the function of a cluster of cells in the ventromedial hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is a small region deep in the brain that helps regulate metabolism, energy levels, and hunger. The authors focused on cells known as steroidogenic factor-1 neurons within this brain region.

    “Steroidogenic factor-1 neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus are well positioned to integrate signals about energy status and physical activity, so we set out to test whether they play a causal role in exercise-induced endurance improvements,” Williams said.

    The researchers designed a series of experiments using adult male and female mice to track and alter the activity of these neurons. To test the role of these specific brain cells, the scientists genetically modified a group of mice so that their steroidogenic factor-1 neurons could not communicate. They achieved this by introducing a tetanus toxin into these specific neurons, which prevents them from releasing chemical signals.

    The researchers then placed these mice on a motorized treadmill for an exercise stress test. They gradually increased the speed until the animals reached physical exhaustion. While the modified mice consumed oxygen at normal rates, they exhausted much faster than normal mice. They also burned through their energy reserves differently, showing an altered balance of carbohydrate and fat utilization.

    The researchers collected skeletal muscle tissue from the mice three hours after a final treadmill session. They analyzed the tissue using a laboratory technique that lets scientists see which genes are turned on or off. In normal mice, exercise triggered a cascade of genetic changes in the muscles that improve energy use.

    In the mice with silenced brain cells, these normal genetic changes in the muscle were almost entirely absent. The lack of brain signaling stopped the muscles from remodeling themselves. This finding suggests that the muscles need a permission signal from the brain to grow stronger.

    Next, the researchers put the mice through a three-week training program. The mice ran on the treadmill five days a week at gradually increasing speeds. Normal mice rapidly improved their running times and distances over the three weeks. Mice with the silenced brain cells failed to improve their stamina at all.

    “We were struck by how pronounced the effect was when these neurons were silenced,” Williams said. “Disrupting SF1 neuron activity significantly blunted endurance improvements even when the animals were still running, which suggested the neurons aren’t just responding to exercise, but are actively mediating adaptation. That degree of specificity was compelling.”

    Even when given free access to a running wheel in their cages, the modified mice showed almost no interest in running. To ensure this was not just a side effect of poor initial fitness, the scientists ran another test. They knocked down a different activity-related gene in the mice, which caused the animals to gain weight and run poorly at first. Despite their poor initial fitness, these mice still rapidly gained stamina after just a week of training, showing that the tetanus toxin modification was uniquely blocking endurance gains.

    To understand what these brain cells were doing in real time, the scientists used miniature microscopes mounted on the heads of the mice. These microscopes recorded calcium activity inside the neurons, which is a reliable marker of when a brain cell is firing. During a single running session, the researchers noticed that a specific subset of these neurons became highly active. Interestingly, these cells did not peak in activity during the run, but immediately after the exercise ended.

    As the mice continued their three-week training regimen, the researchers tracked these same individual cells. They found that repeated exercise increased the total number of brain cells that activated after a run. The magnitude of the electrical activity in these cells also grew stronger as the mice became more fit. This provides evidence that the brain learns to respond more robustly to physical training over time.

    Using a technique to measure electrical currents in individual brain cells from slices of brain tissue, the scientists observed that the resting electrical charge of these cells shifted in the exercised mice. The spontaneous firing rate of the neurons more than doubled in the mice that exercised compared to sedentary mice. There were also no completely silent neurons in the exercised group, unlike in the sedentary group.

    The scientists also looked closely at the physical structure of these neurons. Brain cells connect and communicate at junctions called synapses, which often sit on tiny branch-like structures known as dendritic spines. By counting these microscopic structures, the authors found that the exercised mice had twice as many dendritic spines as the sedentary mice. This physical change provides evidence that repeated exercise physically rewires the brain to receive more signals.

    Finally, the researchers used a technique to manipulate these brain cells with light. By shining a specific wavelength of light through a tiny fiber optic cable into the brain, they could turn the neurons on or off like a switch. During a three-week training program, the researchers turned off the brain cells for fifteen minutes immediately following each daily run. Because of this brief manipulation, these mice failed to improve their stamina.

    In a separate group of mice, the researchers used the light to stimulate the neurons for a full hour after each training session. The mice receiving this post-workout brain boost gained significantly more stamina than mice undergoing the exact same physical training. They could run longer and at higher speeds by the end of the trial. This suggests that the activity of these brain cells after a workout is an essential trigger for building physical endurance.

    While these findings offer a new way to think about exercise, readers might misinterpret the brain’s exact role. This study does not imply that muscle tissue is unimportant or that a person can simply think their way to better fitness. Physical movement is still required to start the biological process.

    “The brain isn’t just a passenger during exercise,” Williams said. “It is actively involved in the adaptations that make you fitter over time. We found that a specific population of hypothalamic neurons is required for the endurance gains that come with regular aerobic training.”

    The study has some limitations that require consideration when interpreting the data. “This work was performed in preclinical models, specifically in mice,” Williams said. “While the hypothalamic circuits we study are conserved across mammals, translating these findings to humans requires caution.”

    “We also focused on endurance performance as our primary outcome,” Williams added. “It will be important in future work to examine how broadly these neurons influence other aspects of exercise adaptation, such as metabolic flexibility or cardiovascular responses.”

    Future research will try to identify the exact biological pathways that connect the tired muscles to this specific brain region. “We want to better understand the circuitry involved in this response,” Williams told PsyPost. “Which signals do SF1 neurons receive/send, and to where, to drive these adaptations?”

    Understanding these pathways tends to open the door for new medical treatments. “This raises the possibility that targeting these brain circuits could one day help people who are unable to exercise fully benefit from some of its metabolic effects,” Williams said. “Longer term, understanding these pathways at a mechanistic level may open new therapeutic strategies for metabolic disease.”

    “Exercise remains one of the best medicines we have, and understanding its biology in the brain is still in its early days,” Williams said. “Studies like this remind us that the brain’s role in physical fitness is far more active and specific than we once appreciated.”

    The study, “Exercise-induced activation of ventromedial hypothalamic steroidogenic factor-1 neurons mediates improvements in endurance,” was authored by Morgan Kindel, Ryan J. Post, Kyle Grose, Louise Lantier, Eunsang Hwang, Jamie R.E. Carty, Lenka Dohnalová, Lauren Lepeak, Hallie C. Kern, Rachael Villari, Nitsan Goldstein, Emily Lo, Albert Yeung, Lukas Richie, Bridget Skelly, Jenna Golub, Manmeet Rai, Teppei Fujikawa, Julio E. Ayala, Joel K. Elmquist, Christoph A. Thaiss, David H. Wasserman, Kevin W. Williams, Erik B. Bloss, and J. Nicholas Betley.

    URL: psypost.org/scientists-reveal-

    -------------------------------------------------

    DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.

    Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: clinicians-exchange.org

    Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

    NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

    Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: nationalpsychologist.com

    EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: subscribe-article-digests.clin

    READ ONLINE: read-the-rss-mega-archive.clin

    It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

    -------------------------------------------------

    #psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ExerciseEndurance #BrainExerciseConnection #SF1Neurons #VentromedialHypothalamus #NeuralControlOfMetabolism #ExerciseAdaptation #EnduranceTraining #NeuroscienceResearch #BrainMuscleConnection #ExerciseScience

  4. DATE: May 19, 2026 at 08:00AM
    SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

    ** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
    -------------------------------------------------

    TITLE: Scientists reveal the brain’s surprisingly active role in building exercise endurance

    URL: psypost.org/scientists-reveal-

    A recent study published in the journal Neuron suggests that the brain plays a direct role in how the body builds endurance after physical activity. Scientists found that a specific group of brain cells springs into action immediately after a workout, sending signals that tell the muscles to adapt and grow stronger. This research provides evidence that the benefits of exercise depend on the brain as much as they depend on the muscles themselves.

    The study was led by J. Nicholas Betley, a professor of biology and neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, Erik Bloss, an assistant professor at The Jackson Laboratory, and Kevin W. Williams, an associate professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The project’s co-first authors were Morgan Kindel, a neuroscience doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, and Ryan J. Post, an assistant professor at Providence College.

    The scientists conducted the research to explore how physical training creates long-lasting health benefits. People naturally assume that building endurance is a process that happens entirely within the body. When a person runs or lifts weights, the heart pumps harder and the muscles do the heavy lifting. As a result, changes in the cardiovascular system and muscle tissues seem to be the obvious source of increased stamina.

    However, the scientists suspected that the central nervous system might do more than just react to physical stress. They designed this project to see if the brain actively coordinates the body’s metabolic response to physical activity. “Our labs have long been interested in how the brain regulates metabolism, and exercise is one of the most powerful metabolic and health interventions,” Williams told PsyPost.

    At UT Southwestern, Williams runs a laboratory that examines how neural networks control feeding behavior, energy expenditure, and glucose metabolism. “We previously published that hypothalamic neurons undergo structural and functional changes in response to exercise,” Williams said. “In this study we addressed how hypothalamic neurons drive the peripheral adaptations to exercise.”

    Specifically, the researchers wanted to understand the function of a cluster of cells in the ventromedial hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is a small region deep in the brain that helps regulate metabolism, energy levels, and hunger. The authors focused on cells known as steroidogenic factor-1 neurons within this brain region.

    “Steroidogenic factor-1 neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus are well positioned to integrate signals about energy status and physical activity, so we set out to test whether they play a causal role in exercise-induced endurance improvements,” Williams said.

    The researchers designed a series of experiments using adult male and female mice to track and alter the activity of these neurons. To test the role of these specific brain cells, the scientists genetically modified a group of mice so that their steroidogenic factor-1 neurons could not communicate. They achieved this by introducing a tetanus toxin into these specific neurons, which prevents them from releasing chemical signals.

    The researchers then placed these mice on a motorized treadmill for an exercise stress test. They gradually increased the speed until the animals reached physical exhaustion. While the modified mice consumed oxygen at normal rates, they exhausted much faster than normal mice. They also burned through their energy reserves differently, showing an altered balance of carbohydrate and fat utilization.

    The researchers collected skeletal muscle tissue from the mice three hours after a final treadmill session. They analyzed the tissue using a laboratory technique that lets scientists see which genes are turned on or off. In normal mice, exercise triggered a cascade of genetic changes in the muscles that improve energy use.

    In the mice with silenced brain cells, these normal genetic changes in the muscle were almost entirely absent. The lack of brain signaling stopped the muscles from remodeling themselves. This finding suggests that the muscles need a permission signal from the brain to grow stronger.

    Next, the researchers put the mice through a three-week training program. The mice ran on the treadmill five days a week at gradually increasing speeds. Normal mice rapidly improved their running times and distances over the three weeks. Mice with the silenced brain cells failed to improve their stamina at all.

    “We were struck by how pronounced the effect was when these neurons were silenced,” Williams said. “Disrupting SF1 neuron activity significantly blunted endurance improvements even when the animals were still running, which suggested the neurons aren’t just responding to exercise, but are actively mediating adaptation. That degree of specificity was compelling.”

    Even when given free access to a running wheel in their cages, the modified mice showed almost no interest in running. To ensure this was not just a side effect of poor initial fitness, the scientists ran another test. They knocked down a different activity-related gene in the mice, which caused the animals to gain weight and run poorly at first. Despite their poor initial fitness, these mice still rapidly gained stamina after just a week of training, showing that the tetanus toxin modification was uniquely blocking endurance gains.

    To understand what these brain cells were doing in real time, the scientists used miniature microscopes mounted on the heads of the mice. These microscopes recorded calcium activity inside the neurons, which is a reliable marker of when a brain cell is firing. During a single running session, the researchers noticed that a specific subset of these neurons became highly active. Interestingly, these cells did not peak in activity during the run, but immediately after the exercise ended.

    As the mice continued their three-week training regimen, the researchers tracked these same individual cells. They found that repeated exercise increased the total number of brain cells that activated after a run. The magnitude of the electrical activity in these cells also grew stronger as the mice became more fit. This provides evidence that the brain learns to respond more robustly to physical training over time.

    Using a technique to measure electrical currents in individual brain cells from slices of brain tissue, the scientists observed that the resting electrical charge of these cells shifted in the exercised mice. The spontaneous firing rate of the neurons more than doubled in the mice that exercised compared to sedentary mice. There were also no completely silent neurons in the exercised group, unlike in the sedentary group.

    The scientists also looked closely at the physical structure of these neurons. Brain cells connect and communicate at junctions called synapses, which often sit on tiny branch-like structures known as dendritic spines. By counting these microscopic structures, the authors found that the exercised mice had twice as many dendritic spines as the sedentary mice. This physical change provides evidence that repeated exercise physically rewires the brain to receive more signals.

    Finally, the researchers used a technique to manipulate these brain cells with light. By shining a specific wavelength of light through a tiny fiber optic cable into the brain, they could turn the neurons on or off like a switch. During a three-week training program, the researchers turned off the brain cells for fifteen minutes immediately following each daily run. Because of this brief manipulation, these mice failed to improve their stamina.

    In a separate group of mice, the researchers used the light to stimulate the neurons for a full hour after each training session. The mice receiving this post-workout brain boost gained significantly more stamina than mice undergoing the exact same physical training. They could run longer and at higher speeds by the end of the trial. This suggests that the activity of these brain cells after a workout is an essential trigger for building physical endurance.

    While these findings offer a new way to think about exercise, readers might misinterpret the brain’s exact role. This study does not imply that muscle tissue is unimportant or that a person can simply think their way to better fitness. Physical movement is still required to start the biological process.

    “The brain isn’t just a passenger during exercise,” Williams said. “It is actively involved in the adaptations that make you fitter over time. We found that a specific population of hypothalamic neurons is required for the endurance gains that come with regular aerobic training.”

    The study has some limitations that require consideration when interpreting the data. “This work was performed in preclinical models, specifically in mice,” Williams said. “While the hypothalamic circuits we study are conserved across mammals, translating these findings to humans requires caution.”

    “We also focused on endurance performance as our primary outcome,” Williams added. “It will be important in future work to examine how broadly these neurons influence other aspects of exercise adaptation, such as metabolic flexibility or cardiovascular responses.”

    Future research will try to identify the exact biological pathways that connect the tired muscles to this specific brain region. “We want to better understand the circuitry involved in this response,” Williams told PsyPost. “Which signals do SF1 neurons receive/send, and to where, to drive these adaptations?”

    Understanding these pathways tends to open the door for new medical treatments. “This raises the possibility that targeting these brain circuits could one day help people who are unable to exercise fully benefit from some of its metabolic effects,” Williams said. “Longer term, understanding these pathways at a mechanistic level may open new therapeutic strategies for metabolic disease.”

    “Exercise remains one of the best medicines we have, and understanding its biology in the brain is still in its early days,” Williams said. “Studies like this remind us that the brain’s role in physical fitness is far more active and specific than we once appreciated.”

    The study, “Exercise-induced activation of ventromedial hypothalamic steroidogenic factor-1 neurons mediates improvements in endurance,” was authored by Morgan Kindel, Ryan J. Post, Kyle Grose, Louise Lantier, Eunsang Hwang, Jamie R.E. Carty, Lenka Dohnalová, Lauren Lepeak, Hallie C. Kern, Rachael Villari, Nitsan Goldstein, Emily Lo, Albert Yeung, Lukas Richie, Bridget Skelly, Jenna Golub, Manmeet Rai, Teppei Fujikawa, Julio E. Ayala, Joel K. Elmquist, Christoph A. Thaiss, David H. Wasserman, Kevin W. Williams, Erik B. Bloss, and J. Nicholas Betley.

    URL: psypost.org/scientists-reveal-

    -------------------------------------------------

    DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.

    Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: clinicians-exchange.org

    Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

    NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

    Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: nationalpsychologist.com

    EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: subscribe-article-digests.clin

    READ ONLINE: read-the-rss-mega-archive.clin

    It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

    -------------------------------------------------

    #psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ExerciseEndurance #BrainExerciseConnection #SF1Neurons #VentromedialHypothalamus #NeuralControlOfMetabolism #ExerciseAdaptation #EnduranceTraining #NeuroscienceResearch #BrainMuscleConnection #ExerciseScience

  5. DATE: May 16, 2026 at 09:52AM
    SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

    TITLE: The real reason exercise makes you stronger isn’t what you think

    URL: sciencedaily.com/releases/2026

    Exercise may be training your brain just as much as your body. Researchers discovered that certain brain cells stay highly active even after a workout ends, and those lingering signals appear to help the body build endurance over time. In experiments with mice, blocking these brain cells prevented improvements in stamina, even when the animals still exercised normally.

    URL: sciencedaily.com/releases/2026

    -------------------------------------------------

    DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.

    Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: clinicians-exchange.org

    Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

    NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

    Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: nationalpsychologist.com

    EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: subscribe-article-digests.clin

    READ ONLINE: read-the-rss-mega-archive.clin

    It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

    -------------------------------------------------

    #psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ExerciseScience #BrainFitness #EnduranceTraining #Neuroscience #WorkoutRecovery #BrainCells #StaminaBoost #FitnessResearch #ExerciseBenefits #MindBodyConnection

  6. DATE: May 16, 2026 at 09:52AM
    SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

    TITLE: The real reason exercise makes you stronger isn’t what you think

    URL: sciencedaily.com/releases/2026

    Exercise may be training your brain just as much as your body. Researchers discovered that certain brain cells stay highly active even after a workout ends, and those lingering signals appear to help the body build endurance over time. In experiments with mice, blocking these brain cells prevented improvements in stamina, even when the animals still exercised normally.

    URL: sciencedaily.com/releases/2026

    -------------------------------------------------

    DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.

    Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: clinicians-exchange.org

    Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

    NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

    Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: nationalpsychologist.com

    EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: subscribe-article-digests.clin

    READ ONLINE: read-the-rss-mega-archive.clin

    It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

    -------------------------------------------------

    #psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ExerciseScience #BrainFitness #EnduranceTraining #Neuroscience #WorkoutRecovery #BrainCells #StaminaBoost #FitnessResearch #ExerciseBenefits #MindBodyConnection

  7. DATE: May 16, 2026 at 09:52AM
    SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED

    TITLE: The real reason exercise makes you stronger isn’t what you think

    URL: sciencedaily.com/releases/2026

    Exercise may be training your brain just as much as your body. Researchers discovered that certain brain cells stay highly active even after a workout ends, and those lingering signals appear to help the body build endurance over time. In experiments with mice, blocking these brain cells prevented improvements in stamina, even when the animals still exercised normally.

    URL: sciencedaily.com/releases/2026

    -------------------------------------------------

    DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.

    Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: clinicians-exchange.org

    Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

    NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

    Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: nationalpsychologist.com

    EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: subscribe-article-digests.clin

    READ ONLINE: read-the-rss-mega-archive.clin

    It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

    -------------------------------------------------

    #psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ExerciseScience #BrainFitness #EnduranceTraining #Neuroscience #WorkoutRecovery #BrainCells #StaminaBoost #FitnessResearch #ExerciseBenefits #MindBodyConnection

  8. 🎬 Video Fact-Check

    "7 Dazzling New Studies For Serious Lifters [2025]"
    by Menno Henselmans

    The video summarizes recent research findings in resistance training, highlighting implications for program design. A science literacy review examines the claims made in the presentation.

    #StrengthTraining #ExerciseScience #ScienceLiteracy

    s.fitbodyscience.com/vs3n5k

  9. 🌟 The IFS warmly welcomed Professor Mingchia Yeh from Slippery Rock University in May! His two-week stay included a lecture on exercise science and valuable discussions with our doctoral students. Thanks for the inspiring exchange, Professor Yeh! 🙌 #ResearchCollaboration #ExerciseScience

  10. 📣Exercise of the Day: Push-Up to Side Plank (aka the T-Push-Up)!

    💪🏾 Watch my amazing online client demonstrate this fantastic exercise for upper body strength, core stability, and coordination. It's fun too! 😅

    #fitness #gym #sports #healthequity #workout #StrengthTraining #onlinefitness #personaltrainer #coach #exercisescience #boston #nyc #health

  11. 📣Fun Fitness Fact:
    Where does the fat actually go?💨

    ➡️ It’s one of the most common questions I get from long-term clients—and the answer surprises most people.

    ❌It doesn’t melt. You don’t sweat it out. And it’s definitely not torched by a magic supplement.

    🎥 Check out this video to learn what really happens when you lose fat.

    #weightloss #fatloss #personaltrainer #health #nutrition #science #facts #boston #northshorema #exercisescience #health

  12. (I'm copying this from LinkedIn, from Sean Mullen, an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois. I'll link to Sean if it turns out he's also in the Fediverse. I've asked him.)

    Two years later—and the cardiovascular damage from Long COVID is still measurable.

    A new study tracked people with Long COVID two years after their initial infection. These weren’t isolated anecdotes. Researchers used gold-standard physiological tools—microneurography, echocardiography, vascular imaging, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing—to quantify what many patients have been describing all along.

    The findings are not subtle:

    1. Sympathetic Nervous System Overdrive
    Participants with Long COVID had 77% more sympathetic nerve bursts than matched controls. That’s not “just anxiety”—that’s measurable autonomic dysregulation.

    2. Vascular Dysfunction
    Their arteries showed 26% lower flow-mediated dilation, a well-established marker of endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular risk.

    3. Subclinical Heart Damage
    Strain imaging revealed subtle impairments in cardiac function—often missed by routine exams but consistent with early-stage heart failure patterns.

    4. Impaired Exercise Capacity
    On a maximal effort test, Long COVID patients reached *21% lower oxygen uptake*, despite comparable effort. It wasn’t deconditioning. It was systemic impairment.

    5. Cellular Markers of Injury and Stress
    Blood tests revealed increased oxidative stress, lower antioxidant activity, and higher levels of extracellular vesicles from damaged endothelial cells.

    Yes, the study had limitations:

    * Small sample (18 Long COVID, 19 controls)
    * Cross-sectional design (not causal)
    * Focused only on those with severe acute COVID
    * Did not include pulmonary function or key inflammatory mediators

    But even with these limitations, the findings are consistent with a growing body of evidence:
    Long COVID is not just about fatigue—it’s a multi-system condition with real, measurable physiological consequences.

    Why does this matter?

    Because the world continues to downplay or ignore this. And yet, the biological signals are loud. We cannot “walk this off.” We need research. We need scalable interventions.

    One promising candidate?
    IMST (Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training)
    Just 5 minutes a day of breathing against resistance has shown promising results in reducing sympathetic overdrive and improving vascular health. It’s currently being tested in randomized trials for Long COVID.

    ---

    If you’re a clinician, researcher, or policy leader: This is your call to engage.
    Let’s stop debating whether Long COVID is “real,” and start directing our attention—and funding—toward understanding and treating it.

    I’m happy to connect with others working in this space. Thanks to Nathaniel Jenkins, PhD, FAHA for pointing out this important paper.

    #LongCovid #CardiovascularHealth #PublicHealth #COVID19 #ExerciseScience #HealthTech #VascularHealth

    journals.physiology.org/doi/ab

  13. 🚨Weight Loss Facts You NEED to Know (Busting Common Myths)

    💪🏾 As a personal trainer with over 20 years in the fitness industry, I’ve coached clients who’ve lost anywhere from 5 to over 120 pounds—and more importantly, kept it off. Today, I want to share insights on long-term weight loss that focuses on fat loss while preserving lean muscle.

    #weightloss #strengthtraining #health #nutrition #FactsMatter #science #boston #cardio #fitness #gym #lifestyle #Motivation #fatloss #exercisescience

  14. 📣 Coach Julio's Fit Tip: Targeted fat reduction is a myth. Fat loss happens overall, not in specific areas.

    ✅ Focus on building sustainable habits that will carry you forward on the path to a healthier you.

    #weightloss #facts #humor #gym #knowledge #FitnessGoals #Nutrition #exercisescience #personaltrainer #Boston #education

  15. 🚴‍♂️ A study on identical twins exercising 2 hours daily for 93 days (burning 1000 calories/day) showed an average weight loss of 11 pounds, all from fat mass.

    -Despite identical diets and exercise, weight loss varied among twins, highlighting individual variability in response to calorie deficits and exercise.
    #fitness #weightloss #exercisescience

    evidencebasedmuscle.com/is-exe

  16. Steroids have been used by Hollywood actors who want to get buff for decades — since the 1970s, when the action hero archetype emerged with movies like "Rocky" and "The Incredible Hulk" TV show. Consequence discusses whether these drugs are really being used by pretty much everyone in Hollywood, and if it even matters.

    flip.it/0DDMxo

    #Hollywood #Movies #ExerciseScience #Bodybuilding #Cinema #Film

  17. Can a #science person of mastodon explain why I am suddenly enjoying running now for the first time in my life? I've been doing very little cardio and an immense amount of heavy strength training (with progressive overload) in the last few months, but I did sprints yesterday and enjoyed them so much. I felt like I could go on forever, and I even am going for a run later today too.

    I used to do crosscountry running in high school but hated it and felt miserable, and had pain at times. I constantly felt like I was out of breath even though at that point I was running at least a mile or two every day. Did strength training really help me that much versus doing more cardio (like I was doing in high school)?

    #exercisescience #exercise #physicaltherapy #gym #marathon (keeping this tag for the runners) #running #strengthtraining #Running

  18. The Balance Intensity Scale training video has been updated. See a broader range of intensities demonstrated and how to apply the rating scale to static and dynamic balance exercises. Access the scale and the training video on the BIS website here: monash.edu/medicine/balance-in
    #balanceexercise #intensity #exercisescience #physicaltherapy #adult #fallprevention #training

  19. #introductions
    I'm Jeremy and am happy to be here. I live in northeast #Pennsylvania USA. I'm a #college professor at a small, #liberalarts school (disciplines: #athletictraining and #exercisescience).

    I'm typically very unserious. I love #movies, #TheFlopHouse podcast, and the #90DayFiance universe. I am serious about supporting #justice, #civilrights, #antiracism, #LGBTQ, #DEI, and #progressive #liberal causes.

    Hope to engage with reasonable and interesting people here.

  20. The dumbbell chest press is a foundational movement for upper body development.
    It engages the pectorals, deltoids, and triceps while enhancing joint stability and control. A staple in evidence-based strength training.
    #ChestPress #StrengthTraining #DumbbellWorkout #ExerciseScience #UpperBodyStrength onfitnessmag.com/more/chest-pr

  21. #introductions
    I'm Jeremy and am happy to be here. I live in northeast #Pennsylvania USA. I'm a #college professor at a small, #liberalarts school (disciplines: #athletictraining and #exercisescience).

    I'm typically very unserious. I love #movies, #TheFlopHouse podcast, and the #90DayFiance universe. I am serious about supporting #justice, #civilrights, #antiracism, #LGBTQ, #DEI, and #progressive #liberal causes.

    Hope to engage with reasonable and interesting people here.


  22. I'm Jeremy and am happy to be here. I live in northeast USA. I'm a professor at a small, school (disciplines: and ).

    I'm typically very unserious. I love , podcast, and the universe. I am serious about supporting , , , , , and causes.

    Hope to engage with reasonable and interesting people here.

  23. #introductions
    I'm Jeremy and am happy to be here. I live in northeast #Pennsylvania USA. I'm a #college professor at a small, #liberalarts school (disciplines: #athletictraining and #exercisescience).

    I'm typically very unserious. I love #movies, #TheFlopHouse podcast, and the #90DayFiance universe. I am serious about supporting #justice, #civilrights, #antiracism, #LGBTQ, #DEI, and #progressive #liberal causes.

    Hope to engage with reasonable and interesting people here.